Esteban Candelaria covers child welfare and the state Children, Youth, and Families Department for The Santa Fe New Mexican. He is based in Albuquerque. Prior to joining The New Mexican, he covered education at the Albuquerque Journal. There, he tackled accountability stories about the state education department’s administration of services for students to stories about the proliferation of guns in Albuquerque schools. Before the Journal, he covered criminal justice and the local courts at The Colorado Springs Gazette. Esteban graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Colorado College, where he also won an award for his time and contributions to student journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beat: Child welfare in New Mexico
New Mexico's children face massive problems, but the state agency charged with ensuring their welfare has been beset by chronic failure. This reporter covers the Children, Youth and Families department but also explain why New Mexico cannot fix the problems facing its youngest citizens. The reporter deals with politics, education and law enforcement—producing timely and sometimes deadline stories while always looking for a way to bring readers projects about what these failures mean to families, taxpayers, and most importantly, kids.